New Year and New Tunes

Welcome to 2009.  We hope you enjoy your stay.

Today was a great start to the year.  I was on the road early, heading to Salem to run the Wicked Frosty Four with my former teammate Kate.  It was Wicked Frosty.  How did they know that in advance?  Oh, because they live in Salem, right on the water.  It was no higher than 16 degrees and the wind was whipping.  But the four miles flew by, even though we did nearly blow over from the head and side winds between miles 3 and 4.  I very rarely run races just to have fun and it's so pleasant to just enjoy it and care less about the time.  I was chatting along and thanking the volunteers (at least we got to stay warm by running...and who was taking water at mile 2?).  It was just great.  There were some awkward moments after the the race, but we stayed long enough to get chili and water before heading back into the cold.  Salem is such a cute town.  I've only done the witch stuff there, but I'd like to go back in the summer and walk the cobblestones (and what seems to be their own Freedom Trail) with an ice cream.

From there I headed to Somerville!  Yippee!  Sharon and Brandon were nice to spend the afternoon with me, just catching up and all that good stuff.  Brandon established that his philosophy would probably be inconsistency, which he found odd since we are very similar.  I think I'm just scared of inconsistency.  He's not.  He and I commiserated about the junk that is the NikePlus system while Sharon and I wished that we were on the same coast in order to cross country ski together.  Sigh...

Then it was off to see CKB, Amy, JDukes, Elsa, and Justin!  Yippee again!  There's nothing like seeing old friends and having the laughter and conversation just pour out of you.  It's amazing that there was one golden summer when I was at the Wonk with S,B,C,JD,E, and J.  All of us.  Were those my golden years?  I think they might have been.  

I got two recommendations from JDukes: prx.org, which is a public radio clearinghouse in a way, and Back Story Radio.  I haven't checked these out, but if I find anything interesting, I'll let you know.

I'll close with a playlist.  I've had little success with giving people music mixes.  I pretty much love all the mixes that I've ever received (mostly from Ali, my sister, and K...and sometimes JPa).  I wonder if that means my taste is undescriminating or if I have geniuses making me these mixes.  Anyway, my mixes never get much fanfare outside of my own.  I knew it was bad when I put on a playlist in the car and my passenger asked me to change the music to something they had heard before.  I totally sent you this playlist on CD a few months ago.  Ouch!

So, rather than forcing music on people, I'll let you decide if you have any interest.  What follows are songs that are new to my ears in the next 6 months and to which I am singing at the top of my lungs right now or at least get my feet tapping.  Some are bands that I dig and these are their new tunes, but most are by virtue of watching Conan (who has the best musical guests on television in my opinion, but I only watch about an hour of television a week, so what do I know), being around my sister, blogs, and podcasts.  Who knows how old some of these songs are but they are new to me, so I'm happy.  There are many tunes that could have made it, most coming from the KEXP Podcast, and I should have included them since the following is already more than one CD, but I'll have another installment at some point once I get some more listens in.  But as soon as I finished this playlist, I remembered a song that I really wanted on there...VideoTapez by AmpLive (remixing Radiohead).  Through the Dirtbag Diaries website I was able to download this for free and it's become a great running song.

This playlist has been published as an iMix on iTunes so you can preview the tunes and buy them there.  Of course if you want me to send you a mix of any combination of the songs that fit on one CD, I will, for free.  That is, if I know you. This isn't an open offer to the world.

And now with commentary...

1. Kids by MGMT from Oracular Spectacular  (they rock out)

2. Jacknives by Red Heart the Ticker from For The Wicked (folksy, bluegrassy, and sweet)

3. You Got Growin Up To Do by Joshua Radin w/ Patti Griffin from Simple Times (most listened to and sung at the highest volume)

4. Be Here Now by Ray LaMontagne from Till the Sun Turns Black (heard it in a movie and this man continues to make beautiful music)

5. The Kids Don't Stand a Chance by Vampire Weekend from Vampire Weekend (if you haven't heard of them, you should get your hearing checked...this is my favorite of theirs right now)

6. As Tall As Cliffs by Margot and The Nuclear So & So's from Not Animal (just a great sound)

7. I'm Amazed by My Morning Jacket from Evil Urges (I could listen to Jim James for a long time and this song has a surfer kind of sound to it...who knows what that means)

8. San Francisco by Brett Dennen from Hope For The Hopeless (somehow my sister and I discovered this song independently of each other...and I love the unusual sound of this guy's voice)

9. Martha Ann by David Karsten Daniels from Fear of Flying (the sound, the harmonies...this is a perfect song)

10. Hiding My Heart (bonus track) by Brandi Carlile from The Story (this song could make someone cry...her voice sings these words impeccably)

11. Rise by Eddie Vedder from Into the Wild (one of the songs that reminds me of what a happy, carefree person Chris McCandless was...Vedder has not lost his touch for affecting people through music)

12. Microphone (single) by Coconut Records (Jason Schwartzman is making good music)

13. Trashcan by Delta Spirit from Ode to Sunshine (another one that rocks out)

14. Half Asleep by School of Seven Bells from Alpinisms (another much talked about album and I can imagine enjoying grading with this song in the background)

15. One Red Thread by Blind Pilot from 3 Rounds and a Sound (pure voice and guitars and just wonderful)

16. Flowering Spade by Sean Hayes from Flowering Spade (I heard about 5 seconds of this song on TDD and bought it as soon as I could get to my computer)

17. Southern Girl by Amos Lee from Supply and Demand (heard in my sister's car and I couldn't get it out of my head...)

18. Shame by The Avett Brothers from Emotionalism (...until I head this song in her car...I want to own more of this band's music since I love banjos)

19. Oh, Alberta by Elliott Brood from Tin Type (more banjos!  Mounds of joy!)

20. Friends Like These by Mobius Band from Heaven (some songs just hook you...and I like the Magnetic Fields sound of these guys)